A Clear Flowing Yarra

Book excerpt: They say you can't step in the same river twice, and it's true that the Yarra has been hugely changed - but this book is a glorious and timely reminder that things can also be changed for the better. Nature writer Harry Saddler hops, skips and jumps his way along, beside, on and even in the Yarra River from source to mouth, reveling in its hidden beauty, getting close to platypuses, kingfishers, Krefft's gliders and the occasional seal, and meeting many of the swimmers, bushwalkers, ecologists and traditional owners who are quietly and tenaciously restoring the river, patch by patch. Optimistic, inspiring and heartfelt, A Clear Flowing Yarra is a passionate love letter to the river that shapes Melbourne, and an evocative vision of what it is now and what it can be.